Bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop for railway car construction



March 1, 1955 K. F. NYsTRoM BOLSTER CENTER FILLER AND REAR DRAFT GEAR STOP FOR'RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet l lNllu Filed Nov. 24, 1950 i INyENToR. Shia/v6 L '923%@{kw/wv,A

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United States Patent() BOLSTER CENTER FILLER AND REAR DRAFT GEAR STOP FOR RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUC- TION Karl F. Nystrom, Nashotah, Wis., assignor to International Steel Company, Evansville, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application November 24, 1950, Serial No. 197,349

Claims. (Cl. 213-57) My invention relates broadly to railway rolling stock construction and more particularly to an improved construction of bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a construction of a casting for a bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop having parts which may be readily assembled and internally welded after the center sills of the rolling stock are assembled.

Another object of my invention is to provide a construction of casting for a bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop having coacting parts which assure accurate alignment of the bottom flange of the center sill by means of a transversely extending rib or ribs.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved construction of bolster center ller and rear draft gear stop for railway rolling stock wherein an improved welding condition is assured at the bottom of the center sill by means providing V joints which are readily weldable.

Other and further objects of my invention reside in an improved assembly for bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop for facilitating mass production of railway rolling stock at low cost as set forth more fully in the specification hereinafter following by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view through a fragmentary portion of the center sill of conventional railway rolling stock and illustrating in plan view the bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop constructed in accordance with my invention, the view being taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 2 and line 1-1 of Fig. 4; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. l and showing the bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop of my invention in end elevation; and ig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

I have developed the bolster center lfiller and rear draft gear stop for railway rolling stock of my invention to meet a production problem in increasing mass production while reducing costs and labor necessary in performing intricate assembly operations. By my invention I provide a construction of casting which may be readily assembled beneath the center sill of conventional railway rolling stock and internally welded therein.. The construction of the casting is such that accurate alignment of the casting with the bottom anges of the center sill by means of a rib or ribs is assured. I provide improved welding conditions at the bottom of the center sill by ernploying inclined faces at the peripheral edges of the casting presenting an aligned welding surface to the bottom of the center sill which is not recessed into the sill in accordance with conventional practice.

Referring to the drawings in more detail, reference character 1 designates the center sill of conventional railway rolling stock comprising a pair of longitudinally extending frames 2 and 3 abutting each other at their upper extremities and forming the longitudinally extending joint 4 and terminating at their bottom extremities in the longitudinally extending horizontally disposed anges 5 and 6. The bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop 7 of my invention is shown assembled in position beneath the inverted frame constituted by the assembled center sill formed by coacting frames 2 and 3. The casting comprises a pair of spaced rear draft gear stops 8 and 9 forming vertically disposed abutments interconnected by the cast frame structure 10. The cast frame struc- 2,703,181 Patented Mar. 1, 1955 ICC ture 10 extends longitudinally beneath the center sill and terminates adjacent the end opposite the rear draft gear stop abutments 8 and 9 in angularly disposed side portions 11 and 12. The casting 7 intermediate the sides 11 and `12 and the abutment faces 8 and 9 is formed by strengthening web portions indicated generally at 14 which connect with and support the bolster socket 15 which extends 'on a vertical axis through the casting. The bolster socket 15 is disposed symmetrically between opposite sides of the casting but oli-center of the longitudinal axis of the casting and adjacent the end of the casting terminating in the sides 11 and 12.

The upper portion of the casting 7 is provided with a pair of transversely extending dual ribs 16 and 17 displaced on opposite sides of the bolster socket 15 for a distance not exceeding the internal diameter of said bolster socket. The ribs 16 and 17 are disposed closely adjacent the bolster socket 15 and serve as fulcrums about which the bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop 7 may be rocked, oriented or shifted forward or backward step-by-step within the roof of the center sill against the interior of the top of the center sill 1, in assembling the bolster center ller and rear draft gear stop 7 in the proper position therein for the welding operation, the rocking or step-by-step movement being made practicable because of the wide tilting angle permitted by the distance of the ribs 16 and 17 from the ends of the side portions 11 and 12 at one end of the casting and the spaced gear stops 8 and 9 at the other end of the casting and the distance of the extremities of said ribs 16 and 17 from the roof of the bolster center filler designated at 20. The upwardly projecting dual ribs 16 and 17 are interconnected adjacent their opposite ends by webs 18 and 19 formed on substantially semi-circular curves and serving as strengthening means intermediate the ribs 16 and 17 on each side of the bolster socket 15. To facilitate the rocking of the casting into proper position forfwelding, I proportion the rear draft gear stops carried by the bolster center filler so that these rear draft gear stops terminate at a distance spaced below the roof 0f the center sill which is substantially less than the height of the dual ribs above the top of the bolster center'ller. By reason of this relationship the relatively heavy bolster center filler may be readily rocked into a proper position for welding when the casting is assembled within the center sill with the center sill maintained in a reversed position with the central open section thereof facing upwardly for the assembly of the casting therein. The total depth of the casting 7 including the height of transverse ribs 16 and 17 is such that when ribs 16 and 17 approach to approximately 3732 of the roof of the center sill frame members 2 and 3 at A, the lower extremity of the casting 7 extends in a plane substantially coplanar with` the bottom of the anges 5 and 6 at B. The upper extremities of each of the ribs 16 and- 17 are formed on a bias or cut in an inclined plane as represented at 16a and 17a forming a V joint between the tops of the ribs and the under surface of the center sill. This V-shaped joint may be readily reached by the head of a welding tool inserted between the top of the bolster center filler designated at 20y and the undersurface of the center sill for effecting a transverse welding connection as designated at 16b and 17b. The ends of the ribs 16 and 17 are strengthened with respect to the top of the casting 7 by the tapered cast ends represented at 16al and 16d and at 17c and 17d. The ends 11 and 12 of the casting are then welded to the sides of the center sill frames 2 and 3 as represented at 11a and 12a. The opposite sides of the casting 7 are perforated between the reinforcing web por' tions 14 as represented at 21 and beneath each of the edges bounding the perforation 21 I effect a welding between the casting 7 and the interior sides of the frames 2 and 3 constituting the center sill as represented at 21a.

The depth of the casting 7 is so selected that when ribs 16 and 17 are welded at A to the roof of the inverted center sill constituted by frame members 2 and 3 the bottom surface 22 of casting 7 extends substantially coplanar with the bottom of the flanges 5 and 6 at B. The bottom of the casting 7 has its longitudinally extending peripheral edges inclined as represented at 23 and 24 providing a V-shaped joint between the casting and the anges 5 and 6. A weld is made at these V-shaped joints 23 and 24 as shown at 23a and 24a. The final assembly produced by the construction of my invention is one in which the bolster casting is coplanar with the bottom of the center filler and wherein the assembly did not require any variable positioning or adjustment of the bolster casting beneath the bolster center ller as the transverse ribs 16 and 17 serve as measuring means or guides which determine the extent of movement of the casting into the roof center filler.

I have found the construction of my invention very desirable in mass production operations with the parts so positioned that internal welding after the center sills are assembled is very practical. Because of the limiting stops constituted by ribs 16 and 17 which determine the amount of entry of the casting into the center sill the accurate alignment of the bottom of the casting with the bottom of the flanges of the center sill is assured. The V joints which I provide between the terminating edges of` the casting and the flanges of the frame members constituting the center sill provide improved conditions for effecting rapid welding of the casting into the center sill.

While I have described my invention in certain of its preferred embodiments, I realize that modifications may be made and I desire that it be understood that no limitations upon my invention are intended other than may be imposed by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. A bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop for railway cars comprising in combination with a longitudinally extending center sill formed by structural members having vertically disposed webs terminating in oppositely extending upper and lower right angularly disposed coplanar anges, a bolster center filler having a pair of transversely extending ribs on the top thereof, dual webs formed integral with said bolster center filler and extending between said ribs coincident with the direction of the axis of said longitudinally extending center sill said dual ribs being operative to approach the undersurface of the roof of the center sill with the lower face of the bolster center filler extending in substantially coplanar relation with the dual flanges of the center sill and rear draft gear stops carried by said bolster center ller in a position spaced below the roof of said center sill for a distance substantially less than the height of said dual ribs above the top of said bolster center filler, the top of said transverse ribs establishing welding connection with the roof of said center sill.

2. A bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop for railway cars comprising in combination with a pair of structural members forming a longitudinally extending sill for railway cars where said structural members coact to form an inverted channel terminating in oppositely extending coplanar bottom flanges, a casting constituting a bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop inserted within the inverted channel, a bolster socket in said casting, a pair of transversely disposed ribs spaced on each side of said bolster socket for a distance not exceeding the internal diameter of the bolster socket, said ribs establishing abutments with the undersurface of the roof of the inverted channel and the bottom of said bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop extending in a plane substantially coplanar with the bottom flanges of said center sill and a welded connection between said transverse ribs and the undersurface of the roof of said sill, said rear draft gear stop being spaced intermediate the undersurface of the roof of said center sill and the plane of the oppositely extending anges of the center sill.

3. A bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop for railway cars comprising in combination with a'longitudinally extending center sill of a railway car, where said center sill comprises an inverted channel-shaped structure terminating in oppositely extending horizontally disposed coplanar bottom flanges, a casting constituting a bolster center ller and rear draft gear stop extending within said channel-shaped structure having a at top extending below the undersurface of the roof of said channel-shaped structure, a vertically disposed bolster socket formed in said casting, a pair of transversely disposed upwardly extending spaced ribs projecting from the top of said caster and interconnected by longitudinally disposed webs, said ribs approaching the undersurface of the roof of said channel-shaped structure and dimensioned for locating the bottom of said bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop in a plane substantially coplanar with the bottom flanges on said center sill and welded connections between said ribs and the undersurface of the roof of said channel-shaped structure.

4. A bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop for railway cars comprising in combination with a longitudinally extending center sill in which the center sill comprises an inverted channel structure terminating in a pair of oppositely extending horizontally disposed coplanar flanges, a casting forming a bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop inserted Within the channelshaped structure, and terminating in top and bottom surfaces, a cylindrical socket extending between said top and bottom surfaces and integral therewith the top surface of said casting being provided with a pair of upwardly parallel ribs displaced in a position off-center of said casting in a direction remote from said rear draft gear stop and spaced from opposite sides of said cylindrical socket for distances not exceeding the internal diameter of said cylindrical socket, said upwardly extending ribs establishing lineal abutments about which said casting is adapted to be angularly displaced within limits imposed by abutment of the top surface of said casting with the undersurface of the roof of said channel-shaped structure and proportioned to dispose the bottom surface of said casting in a plane substantially coplanar with the plane of said flanges and a welded connection between said ribs and the undersurface of the roof of said channel-shaped structure.

5. A bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop for railway cars as set forth in claim 4 in which said spaced ribs are reinforced by webs extending longitudinally of the top of said casting on opposite sides of said cylindrical socket and integrally connected with said ribs at positions offset from the ends of said ribs in a direction toward said cylindrical socket, said webs being provided with semi-circular curved recesses therein disposed convex with respect to the top surface of said casting.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,122,159 Shaver June 28, 1938 2,180,799 Cottrell et al Nov. 21, 1939 2,231,358 Cottrell et al. Feb. 11, 1941 2,258,208 Johnson Oct. 7, 1941 

